Future
by Hanya625
Summary: Neliel revives Nnoitra and together they enter los noches to figure out just what a bunch of humans are doing in Hueco mundo, and with a little help from their fellow former espada things get a bit more interesting. Beast series #6
1. Chapter 1

**Future**

 **Chapter 1**

Life with Neliel basically guaranteed a life of confusion, so when Nnoitra woke up from what should have been fatal wounds with Neliel perched on a rock nearby, he wasn't surprised that he had no idea what was going on. He sat up slowly, just in case, but sure enough he was fully healed even if his clothes were torn all to hell from the fight with captain Zaraki; he glared over at Neliel who was watching him carefully as if to make sure he wasn't still injured somewhere and he snorted and looked away from her

"You're kidding yourself if you think I'm gonna thank you for saving me," he growled and when Neliel didn't respond he glanced over at her to see that she had turned to watch a bunch of hollows flying by as if she hadn't a care in the world, but he could see the pain in her eyes and he looked away from her as he got to his feet "What the hell's going on anyway?"

"Aizen was defeated," Neliel said calmly as Nnoitra looked at her in disbelief "Ichigo and Orihime are in las noches now along with a small army of soul reapers that are even stronger than the other captains that are left now, Aizen gave them power against their will and now they have become a stronger subspecies of soul reaper that has been sent here to heal hollows," Nnoitra gritted his teeth and grabbed his sword before stalking away and after about a day of travel he stood within a week of las noches' main entrance where he could see a trail of hollows flying, crawling and walking in that direction

"So what, exactly, are they here to heal us of? Do they think we have some sort of disease or something, or are they just here to kill us?" he asked and felt Neliel move closer, she'd stayed back a ways but he'd had a feeling that she'd been following him

"I've seen hollows leave las noches from a distance, so whatever it is they aren't killing them in there," Nnoitra clenched his hand around the hilt of his sword with a growl

"Or those weaklings have just accepted their fate, whatever the hell that is," Neliel moved closer and said with a sure voice

"Ichigo is in there and he is kind, the woman Orihime is even more so; I don't think they'd be here on a mission to lure us all to our deaths," Nnoitra turned and snapped at her

"I didn't ask your opinion, bitch!" Neliel didn't respond, something she was quite good at and another reason Nnoitra hated her; she never rose to the bait and fought him like she meant it, and the one time he'd found someone strong enough to kill him in glorious battle she'd dared to bring him back. He looked around and realized that half the reason he was even talking to her was that he was alone, and he glared back at Neliel who was watching the passing hollows again as if those weaklings had a great interest to her "Where's Tesra, did you see where he went?"

"When you died, he slit his own throat," she said without looking at him and Nnoitra grabbed her shoulder and growled in her face

"Why the hell didn't you bring him back then?" Neliel gave him the same blank look as usual and admitted

"I hated him for being so weak, at least you claimed your death in battle," that gave him pause, he'd never known Neliel to hate anyone let alone to the point where she'd allow them to die and stay dead

"Where is he?" he asked a bit warily, not sure she'd answer, but she very promptly reported

"I buried him, but it took me a week to get enough of my power back to heal you so he wasn't exactly pretty anymore," Nnoitra's eyes narrowed

"You thought Tesra was pretty?" he asked and Neliel rolled her eyes and looked away without answering, and for some reason that only pissed Nnoitra off even more. He grabbed her jaw and forced her to look up at him and he immediately saw the sparkle in her eyes caused by his rough treatment which took him aback, he'd have never guessed Neliel was into pain "Why did you bring me back?" he asked in a low voice and Neliel admitted

"Because I don't want you to hate me; I want to show you what I'm really like," she blinked away tears "a-and maybe someday we can be friends?" the last part was put hesitantly and Nnoitra resisted the instinctive urge to laugh, curious despite his earlier declaration of hatred

"Why?" he prodded and Neliel closed her eyes causing several tears to escape as she whispered

"Because I fear that we might be the only two espada left,"

They camped up against a large sand dune that night with a little fire between the two of them and Nnoitra spent most of the night just watching Neliel sleep as he pondered over her earlier words

'So the rest of the espada are all dead?' he wouldn't be surprised to learn that the privaron espada were dead, after all they'd been weak, but Stark, Baraggan, and Halibel… And what about Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, had they been killed too? He sighed and glanced down at his sword which he'd sealed for the night as he pointed his finger to the ground and tried to pick up on an energy signature that he recognized, but as before he only felt the giant mass of power in the middle of las noches that could have been one or many people from this distance as well as the trail of weaklings making their way to las noches.

Well, them and Neliel.

He glanced across the fire again where she was sleeping on her side with her arm curled under her head, wondering for not the first time where she'd gotten that very human looking outfit of blue pants and a green sleeveless top, but even as he watched he saw a shudder go through her and he realized that she was shivering. He frowned and rose to his feet, going over to her and picking her up into his arms before returning to his seat, and as he settled her head against his chest and lifted a knee to keep the wind off of her he felt her snuggle closer and sigh happily

"Thank you, Nnoitra," she murmured and he snorted and looked back into the fire, his mind wandering for the better part of the night, and towards morning he glanced down at Neliel only to find that she hadn't moved a single inch since she'd fallen asleep. He straightened his knee and she murmured a protest and curled up a little tighter in his lap so that she could continue to sleep, Nnoitra sighed in defeat and stood with her cradled in his arms and after sheathing his sword and walking for a couple of hours he heard Neliel's breathing change. He glanced down at her and was a bit startled to see that the pink mark that usually graced her cheeks and nose had faded away and her skin was a pale color that he didn't recognize, he knelt to set her butt on his knee and lightly patted her cheek with his freed hand. He didn't get a response and, recalling earlier, he drew back and slapped her; her eyes flew open with a gasp and she blinked several times before finding Nnoitra with her gaze and she took a few small breaths before admitting "I think… I over did it," then she passed out and Nnoitra frowned and sighed before picking her up again and continuing on towards los noches

"You're such a pain in the ass," he muttered but, predictably, got no response.

Neliel woke up in a strange bed naked and alone but she was too weak to even sit up, she twitched her fingers towards the door and whimpered and a moment later it opened revealing Orihime and Nnoitra. Orihime rushed forward and touched Neliel's cheek which immediately made her start to feel better but Neliel's eyes found Nnoitra who was leaning against the wall watching over them with hard eyes. She swallowed with difficulty; that look in his eyes was one she'd seen too many time in the past to forget but she had hoped that she'd never see it again

"I'm sorry Nel," Orihime said "when Nnoitra brought you here I didn't know what else to do, you were barely breathing and we weren't sure you'd make it unless I healed you. I really wanted to wait to ask you if you were okay with it but we couldn't get you to open your eyes," Neliel frowned in confusion and Nnoitra stepped forward and smacked her left breast, much to Orihime's outrage, but when Neliel looked down she gasped when she saw that her hole was gone. It had been above where her heart was supposed to be, but now it was gone

"So, that's what you're healing here?" Neliel asked and Orihime looked away from Nnoitra who she had evidently been chastising to give Neliel a worried look

"Yes, with your holes healed you won't need to eat human souls anymore and the world of the living will be safe," Nnoitra snorted and she glared at him "and I'm not done with you, Nnoitra, that was uncalled for not to mention rude!"

"Don't worry about it so much, Orihime; Nel is a masochist," Neliel glanced up and she smiled when she saw Ichigo's shoulder and the back of his head through the doorway, clearly he'd been ordered not come in since Neliel was naked, and Neliel blinked in surprise when Nnoitra moved in front of her before sitting on the bed as if to guard her even going so far as to reach behind him and rest a hand on her bare thigh which of course made Orihime flutter about like a nervous mother hen

"Nnoitra, she's naked!" Orihime protested and Nnoitra gave her a hard look that could have easily sliced her neck open of looks could kill

"You've hurt her enough, bitch, now back the fuck off," Ichigo immediately turned the corner with a growl and suddenly and without warning Ulquiorra appeared between Nnoitra and Orihime, guiding Orihime back towards Ichigo as Nnoitra straightened with surprise

"Easy, Nnoitra, mother was only doing what she felt she must," Ulquiorra said with a glance back at him and Nnoitra stood with a glare to face down the smaller but stronger former espada

"You have no idea what-" he broke off when Ulquiorra turned to face him and Ulquiorra nodded once and reached up to trace his fingertips over his own unblemished chest

"I know it hurt, but it is done and she is safer for it," Ulquiorra said, keeping the cadence of his voice slow and soothing as if talking down a rabid beast "she will never be hunted by soul reapers again, she is _safe_ ," he repeated the last bit with more emphasis and Neliel was in shock as she watched the aggression drain from Nnoitra before he returned to sit in front of her with a dark look on his face "I know it wasn't easy to watch," Ulquiorra added and Nnoitra snorted before sitting up again when Grimmjow turned the corner, dressed as he was in his normal pants and vest it was easy to see that the hole in his gut had been healed as well. He sauntered up to Ulquiorra and wrapped an arm around his waist, keeping his eyes locked on Nnoitra as he bent his head and pressed a kiss to Ulquiorra's cheek

"Everything alright in here? I heard screaming," he directed towards the former number 4

"Mother healed Neliel," Ulquiorra explained "and Nnoitra didn't take it very well," Neliel blinked in surprise and lightly touched Nnoitra's shoulder to gain his attention

"You screamed?" she asked in a low voice and he shrugged off her touch to turn and glare back at her

"No, you did!" he snarled and she was surprised both by his reaction and the fear she could see in his eye as he pointed back towards Ichigo and the others "She was hurting you and those bastards wouldn't even let me-" he cut himself off with a growl and looked away from her and Neliel blinked in surprise then slowly smiled and rose up to drape her arms over Nnoitra's shoulders, hugging him close as she heard Grimmjow chuckle and evidently he and Ulquiorra shooed everyone out of the room because the door closed a few moments later leaving them with the light of the moon coming through the window behind them to see by and nothing else. Neliel remained quiet, sensing that Nnoitra was struggling, then he slowly lifted his hand and placed it over her arms where he let it rest for several minutes before asking in a gruff voice "Are you alright now?" she nodded against his back

"I'm just hungry," she admitted and he glanced back at her

"I thought you didn't eat souls after you got your hole plugged up," she laughed softly at his phrasing and was pleased to see a light blush dust his cheeks

"Actually I kinda feel like biting you, as weird as that sounds," he frowned and turned to face her more fully

"So you still eat other hollows?" he asked a bit warily and she shook her head

"I don't want your flesh, I just want your blood," she said and sat up a little straighter to nuzzle his neck, delighting in the shudder than ran through his body as he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her and gathered her closer

"Yeah, well, don't make a mess or anything," he muttered gruffly and Neliel smiled and snuggled close to him before lifting her lips to his and he went still, he even stopped breathing, before shuddering and kissing her back as he ran his hands up and down her back slowly as if to reassure himself that she really was alright. She kissed from his lips to his neck and Nnoitra threaded his fingers through her hair and pressed a kiss to the side of her head then sucked in a startled breath when she sank her fangs deep; being mostly a pacifist meant that Neliel hadn't had much occasion to taste blood, but Nnoitra's tasted dark and musky as well as the obvious copper taste that she'd expected and when she moaned softly she felt Nnoitra cup her ass and drag her against his body where her bare pussy settled over the bulge in his pants. She rocked her hips into his as she drank deeply, luxuriating in the friction and the sounds of Nnoitra's heavy breathing, and suddenly with a growl Nnoitra pulled her hips away enough to free his cock and when he lifted her Neliel trembled with anticipation then moaned as he impaled her on his cock. The tight fit was deliciously borderline painful and as he massaged her ass and pressed a finger against her puckered entrance he panted in her ear "hurry up and finish so I can fuck you right, woman,"

Neliel withdrew her fangs and licked the wounds to help them heal and a moment later Nnoitra had her on her back with his large frame towering over her and her arms pinned above her head, his darkened eye took in her form and he smirked before swatting her breasts which bounced and stung as she whimpered "such pretty pink tits," he growled and leaned down to suck a nipple as he started thrusting, and Neliel arched against him with a moan as she rocked her hips in time with his. It had been far too long since she'd had a lover, and she'd have never thought Nnoitra of all people would be fucking her so roughly right now but as she wrapped her legs around his hips she knew that she wouldn't let him go now that she had him. He reached beneath her and pressed two dry fingers into her ass and Neliel arched her back and came with a scream, feeling Nnoitra's hips grind against hers before he came inside her with a growl and held her tight with his free arm as he shuddered against her. She felt him press his lips to her neck which coaxed another shudder of delight from her and when he pulled his fingers from her ass she mewed softly earning a husky chuckle as his cock throbbed inside of her, releasing another hot rope of cum. He kissed her as he held her pinned to the bed and as she sighed happily and kissed him back she felt him tangle their fingers together, warming her inside.

Neliel was sitting in Nnoitra's lap when there was a knock on the door that announced supper was ready, and she looked up to see that Nnoitra was dozing with his back against the headboard of the bed. She squirmed from his lap and set her feet on the ground and a moment later Nnoitra grabbed her and hauled her back into his lap with a growl

"The fuck you think you're going?" he grumbled and she nuzzled his neck

"You need to eat," she said and he tilted her head up with a smirk

"Maybe I'll eat you later," he said and Neliel squirmed and pushed at his chest

"I meant dinner is ready, Nnoitra," she protested and he pressed a soft kiss to her lips as he squeezed her hip

"I'm not hungry," he assured her and gave her a serious look that made her wonder what was going through his head as he used his free hand to lightly brush his fingertips over her marking on her face, trailing them from the pink mark that stretched to either side of her nose up to the scar that he'd caused a lifetime ago that rose into her hairline "I was kinda hoping that by 'healing' that the woman would actually heal you," he admitted and she blinked in surprise and realized that the look he had in his eye almost looked like guilt, she leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his jaw and murmured

"I'm healed enough that I won't have to worry about danger anymore, I think that is enough to be happy about," she trailed her fingers down his chest "and now I have you too, I never thought I'd ever have so much," he captured her hand and brought it to his lips, holding her fingers there for a moment before kissing them and standing. He laid her on the bed and bent over her long enough to steal a kiss before pulling the covers over her

"I'll be back in a little while, rest up cuz when I get back I'm gonna mess you up," she smiled and cupped his cheek

"I'll be waiting,"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

When he woke up his head was throbbing which he was pretty sure wasn't normal, and when he reached up to rub at his left eye it throbbed a few more times before it began to ease as he sat up and looked around. He was alone in a white room in the middle of a big white bed, something he vaguely recalled wasn't an abnormal thing for him though he had a feeling that he was missing something, he reached out to the empty side of the bed and touched the sheets there for a moment before fisting his hand and swinging his feet over the side of the bed where he sat for what felt like hours. His head was slowly clearing but he felt like his head was full of cotton so information was passing slowly through his head and he couldn't place most of the information, and when the door opened to reveal a small man with a mask on part of his head the confused man couldn't place him though he felt sure that they'd met before. He walked over to the edge of the bed and brushed the hair off of the man's face, clearly looking at his left eye for a moment before nodding

"You can see?" the man nodded, wondering why he wouldn't have been able to before, and the smaller man let his hair fall back into his face

"Good, mother was worried that your eye might not function because it had never been connected to your brain before,"

"Mother?" the man wondered and the smaller man nodded

"Orihime Inoue, you've only called her 'woman' since you arrived so I suppose you wouldn't know her name," his eyes narrowed slightly "however I see more confusion in your eyes than such a topic would warrant; tell me, what is my name?" the man shook his head, he didn't know "I see, and yours? Do you recall your name?" again the man shook his head "Where are you?" the man looked around for a moment then, when he saw the moon outside the window, he recalled that much at least

"Hueco mundo in a castle called las noches, though I can't remember why," the smaller man sighed and rubbed at his temple

"This is going to be a pain," he decided then looked over at the man "I am Ulquiorra, you are Nnoitra, and there is a woman waiting outside who is most eager to come in and make sure that you are alright," Nnoitra looked down at his hands for a little while and shook his head

"I feel alright physically, but not a lot is making sense to me right now," he admitted and looked up at Ulquiorra "a woman?" he repeated and Ulquiorra nodded

"Neliel Tu Oderschvank, Nel to most of us though you've always called her Neliel," Nnoitra rubbed at his face with a sigh and shrugged a shoulder

"Well I guess you should let her in then, not like delaying a few more minutes is going to clear anything up,"

As soon as Neliel entered the room she could tell something was wrong, true that it was odd to see Nnoitra with two eyes but she could feel Ulquiorra watching her as if gauging her reaction. She walked slowly up to Nnoitra who was sitting on the edge of the bed and brushed his hair from his face to see that while his hole had been healed and he had two eyes now, the remains of his mask surrounded his eye like a picture frame. He blinked slowly as if not used to having to operate both of his eyelids but she was sure he'd get used to it in a day or so

"How do you feel?" she asked softly and he shrugged and admitted

"A bit fuzzy," and Neliel knew without being told exactly what he meant; his memories were shifting around now that his brain had a new piece to occupy. It wasn't a big amount of space, but in terms of brain power his mind had a lot to reorganize. She swallowed with some difficulty and glanced back at Ulquiorra before looking down at Nnoitra who didn't seem to know how to act around her, and Neliel was certain that if he'd remembered a few hours ago she'd be in his lap by now. She let his hair fall back into his face and stepped back to clasp her shaking hands behind her back

"You might have to consider a new hair style," she said with a forced smile then turned to the door and called back "well I'll be seeing you, Nnoitra," she said and used her sonído to move quickly away, making it to her room but just barely in time before tears flooded her eyes. She closed her door carefully then crumpled back against it, her tears falling silently as she wondered just how she was going to get through the time that it took for Nnoitra to hopefully recover his memories 'Is it really such a bad thing though?' part of her whispered 'He doesn't remember what he did to you, he has the chance to start over and do better this time,' more tears flowed as she realized 'And if he only spent the last few days with you because he felt guilty? You'll never feel him inside you again, never feel him tighten his arms around you in his sleep,' a sob escaped her and she quickly covered her mouth, the walls in this place were thick enough that it wasn't like anyone would hear her but she could hear the pain in her sobs and she refused to give in to it.

Ulquiorra leaned against the wall by Neliel's door with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, part of him aching for what he was sure Neliel was going through though even thinking of how he himself would feel if Grimmjow was in this situation actually caused tears to form in his eyes though they didn't fall. Ulquiorra felt a shadow fall over him and he leaned his head to the side to rest on Grimmjow's shoulder, sighing softly as the tension and pain drained from him, and he felt Grimmjow reach up to pet the side of his head

"It might take a few days, but Nnoitra will be alright," Grimmjow said in that gruff way of his and Ulquiorra shook his head a little

"But will Neliel? I do not know what happened between them but it is clear that she is struggling with something," Ulquiorra looked up at his mate and felt Grimmjow's hold tighten a bit as if sensing that Ulquiorra needed to be held

"She's tough, she'd have to be to survive as long as she did outside in that child form of hers with those two idiot fraccion trailing along behind her, though I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things turn out; if Nnoitra regains his memories then it won't be a problem, and if he doesn't then I guess we'll just have to help out where we can and see how things go," Grimmjow pressed a kiss to his forehead and murmured "let's go and get something for Nnoitra to drink, it might help him regain his functions a little faster," Ulquiorra sighed and nodded

"At the very least I suppose it can't hurt,"

Nnoitra was sitting up on the roof with one of his legs tucked up to his chest and the other swinging lazily as he looked out over the vast expanse of white sand that surrounded las noches, his mind wandering in circles as he wondered more and more about Neliel. He wasn't sure why but every time she came to mind he felt the desire to pull her close and protect her along with the simultaneous desire to push her away as if to keep himself from hurting her. He wasn't sure why, but no matter what he was feeling he knew that she would be safer without him. He heard the tell tale sound that an espada's sonído made behind him and he glanced over his shoulder to see another man that he wasn't familiar with, this one had blue hair and a mask along one side of his face, and he was holding an animal skin pouch at his side with his free hand in his pocket as he looked down at Nnoitra as if gauging his reaction

"Ulquiorra said I might find you here," he said and tossed the animal skin to Nnoitra who caught it, hearing the slosh of a thick liquid inside "drink that, all at once if you can. I'll wait," Nnoitra opened his mouth then paused, he'd just been about to snap at the man and he didn't even recall his name "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, now drink you stubborn ass; I ain't got all day," Nnoitra frowned and popped the cork on the skin, tilting it up to his lips and drinking as quickly as he could before tossing the skin back at Grimmjow with a cough, struggling to keep it down

"Please tell me that I don't have to drink that shit again," Nnoitra said with a hoarse voice

"Hey, 'that shit' happens to be the blood of the man I love so shut your trap," Grimmjow growled, but Nnoitra heard a hint of satisfaction as if he may have been concerned that Nnoitra would like the taste and ask for more "next time you can get your own damn blood, preferably from Neliel," Nnoitra's head snapped up to glare at Grimmjow "hey, you're a lucky bastard; most women either never talk to guys that tried to kill them again, or they try to kill them themselves if they can and Neliel sure as hell could have left you dead," Nnoitra felt his face drain of blood

"What?" he breathed and Grimmjow sighed and pulled his hand from his pocket where he had a little orange flash drive which he held up for Nnoitra to see before tossing it to him

"Plug that into the security system in the main hall that we don't really use anymore, I put a few files on there for you to see; since your memory is Swiss cheese and Neliel needed you better like an hour ago, I suggest you get to it,"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Nnoitra had been sitting in the chair in the security office for hours watching bits and pieces of his life, the first had been when he and Szayelaporro Granz had plotted and carried out the plot to kill Neliel, and so far every clip since had been short ones sharing a common theme; Neliel had followed him around quite a bit, most of the time unknown to even him by the looks of it, and had saved his ass more than once. Every time he'd ventured from los noches, even after she'd been changed into a child that had been more or less helpless, she'd set a chain of events into place that had Nnoitra away from a place that would have meant his death. A few clips towards the end that were when she was still an espada had him frowning in confusion and rewinding them, and when they played through a second time he caught her giving him several looks that he could only call 'longing' as if she had wanted him for reasons that he couldn't understand

'Nel is a masochist,' a memory tickled his mind and he frowned and rubbed at his eyes before he typed in a series of keywords that he wasn't sure would get him anywhere, but sure enough a few days ago an orange headed soul reaper had said those words. Nnoitra looked at the paused screen for a while before he typed in a handful of other words that showed him the hallways after Ulquiorra and Grimmjow had ushered everyone out of the room, leaving Nnoitra and Neliel alone together

"I can't decide if it's more funny or sad," Grimmjow was saying to Ulquiorra, the man that Grimmjow loved Nnoitra assumed by the way they seemed to gravitate towards each other, and Ulquiorra glanced up at him as they walked "Nnoitra and Nel, he hates her and she loves him," Ulquiorra shook his head

"If you had seen how he reacted when he thought that mother was killing her, you'd change your mind," Nnoitra frowned and paused the video, backing up even more to when he had first come back to los noches with Neliel cradled in his arms. An orange headed woman, the mother that Ulquiorra had mentioned so by default she must be Orihime Inoue, rushed to them immediately when she saw the shape that Neliel was in

"She used up too much of her energy, I told her that it was too soon!" she fretted and looked back at the orange headed soul reaper as he walked over to them leading a group of several strong looking men, his frown of concern speaking volumes

"You will have to heal her," he said and Orihime shook her head quickly

"Ichigo, I can't, she isn't awake so I can't ask her to make sure that it's alright," the soul reaper, Ichigo, tilted Orihime's head up and said in a hard voice

"Orihime, she'll die; heal her and we'll sort out the rest later," her stance immediately softened at the order, clearly despite being so powerful she was submissive to this soul reaper, and she nodded

"Yes sir," she said in a low voice then looked over at Nnoitra "I need you to put her down so that I can heal her," Nnoitra watched his own jaw clench on the video

"Like hell, that floor's cold," he argued and Ichigo took a step forward

"Cold for a few minutes or dead, Nnoitra, those are your only options," Nnoitra growled in annoyance and carefully laid Neliel on the ground before taking a step back, and when the light from Orihime's hands hit Neliel's chest her back arched and she screamed. Nnoitra covered his ears as he watched his past self launch at Orihime to stop her, but the men that had surrounded him held him back, and as Neliel screamed again and again Nnoitra watched as tears spilled from his one eye and when Nnoitra saw his own lips moving he removed his hands from his ears

"You're killing her! You won't get away with this, you fucking bitch! I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you!" Nnoitra hit the button to stop the video, not really surprised to find his cheeks wet after seeing such a display, and after taking several moments to compose himself he stood and walked slowly back towards Neliel's room. His memories were still a little fuzzy but the videos had helped to fill in a lot.

Nnoitra found Neliel's room with relative ease, showing him that his memory must be coming back but finding little comfort in that, and when he pushed the door open and walked inside he found Neliel curled up on her side facing away from the door. He closed the door behind him and wandered over to the bed and knelt on the edge to lean over her, concerned when he saw that she was pale again though the pink mark on her face was still present

"Do you need me to fetch mother for you?" he ventured and she shook her head, her eyes still closed

"She just came by a couple of hours ago," she muttered and nuzzled her face into her pillow as if seeking to crawl into the fluff "and I wasn't expecting any other company; what do you want?"

'I want you to look at me,' he thought a bit sadly and settled on his heel as he watched her, trying to think of a way to mend the gap between them "I was told that you might need blood, so I thought I'd come by and offer it," he improvised, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow needed blood, Nnoitra needed blood, he could only guess that Neliel would too but he could see by the way she seemed to deflate a little that he hadn't managed to take any steps forward

"You were told?" she quoted back and he sighed softly and reached out to run his hand down her upper arm, trying to connect with her though she flinched away

"Please, Neliel, I am trying," he said and she finally looked up at him, her eyes hard despite how weak she looked

"I don't want you to try, I want you to curse and tell me you hate me!" she snapped angrily and Nnoitra sighed and shook his head as he sat back on his heel again

"Why would I lie to you as well as myself, do you think I'd carry you here for mother to help if I hated you?" he asked, momentarily startling himself as the memory came back, but he shook it off and continued "I pushed you away because I felt guilty all of these years after what I did to you; I was jealous of your strength, I wanted your power, and I reacted like a child," he reached out and took her hand, noting how badly she was trembling, and he gave it a gentle tug to try and coax her to come to him "Now stop being a stubborn ass and come and drink what you need," she sat up, hesitated, then scooted over to his side and nuzzled his neck which stirred memories from a few days ago and he licked his lips as he lightly caressed her head "Bite me, Neliel, take my blood and feel better," he coaxed in a husky voice and felt her lick his pulse before she sank her fangs deep causing an ache to spread from her bite throughout the rest of his body, he shuddered and fisted her hair without thinking earning a soft moan in response and he licked his lips nervously as he tried to loosen his hold but his body didn't want to listen. Her bite was arousing as hell and he wanted nothing more in that moment to fuck her and reconnect with her in the only way he knew he could right then 'She's weak, and just because I'm starting to remember doesn't make this right,' he lightly stroked her head and shuddered as his body reacted, pressing his lips to her shoulder before growling softly "Damn it, woman, I love you so much it fucking hurts," and he only realized what he'd said when he felt her freeze 'Well, that had to be the second most idiotic thing I've done in recent memory,' he thought as he stroked her head, holding her to his shoulder when she tried to pull away "Drink, idiot; I don't know how you survived for the last couple of days but I know you're feeling it and I won't let you kill yourself,"

"I'm glad someone is looking out for the two of them," Nnoitra glanced up at the door when he heard her voice, finding Orihime standing just inside the door, and at his raised eyebrow Orihime answered his unasked question "I think Nel is pregnant,"

Neliel was sitting in Nnoitra's lap about an hour later surrounded by felines, current and former soul reapers, and just in general feeling a touch overwhelmed. Mother's announcement had been met by amazement and more than a little confusion, after all none of the espada had ever heard of the term 'pregnant' and when Orihime had explained what it was there had been the obvious question; how? Espada didn't reproduce like humans did, but despite all history to the contrary Orihime had confirmed it; her dust had swirled around Neliel for a few minutes before she'd confirmed a second heartbeat. Neliel was going to be a mother, something she'd never heard of nor considered for herself, and if she had to be honest with herself she was terrified; she didn't even know how to care for a pet, let alone a child

"It's gonna be alright, Nel," Grimmjow said from nearby and she glanced up at him in surprise to see that Ulquiorra and the others were all looking at her as well "you and Nnoitra aren't alone, and we're not going anywhere either so you just concentrate on your part in this and when the kid is born it will be the most spoiled little creature in any of the three worlds," Neliel felt tears form in her eyes and when she looked back at Nnoitra she was a little startled to see tears in his as well

"We're gonna be one hell of a weird family, Neliel, but I know one thing for sure," he smirked and kissed her softly before pulling back to murmur "things will never be boring,"


End file.
